🦴 Project PaleoWave
“Mapping Nevada’s Ancient Seas”
Project PaleoWave is a reproducible geospatial workflow designed to identify and prioritize potential ichthyosaur fossil localities in Nevada using open data and modern analytical tools — R, Python, QGIS, Pixi, and the Paleobiology Database (PBDB).
🌵 Inspiration
As a student at the University of Nevada, I was
captivated by the ichthyosaur fossils displayed on campus and the vast,
fossil-bearing deserts of central Nevada.
Back then — in the early 1990s — prospecting for fossils meant paper
maps, long hikes, and plenty of educated guessing. Technology just
wasn’t there yet.
During those years, my friends and I would unwind at Great Basin Brewing Co. in Reno, sipping Ichthyosaur “Icky” IPA — a tribute to Nevada’s state fossil and the prehistoric seas that once covered this region.
That same curiosity (and maybe a few “Ickys”) inspired this project — but now, with better tools: LiDAR, open fossil data, and machine learning.
⚙️ Project Overview
Goal: Develop a fully reproducible, modular workflow
for predicting ichthyosaur fossil-bearing sites using: - PBDB
fossil occurrence data
- LiDAR-derived terrain metrics (slope, ruggedness,
exposure) - Geological formation filtering (Triassic
marine units) - Rule-based and machine learning models
- QGIS visualization and field-ready mapping
The workflow is designed to be: - 🧩 Modular —
easily adapted to other fossil taxa or regions
- 🔁 Reproducible — managed through
Pixi and renv environments
- 🗺️ Field-ready — generating ranked candidate polygons
for exploration
🧪 Tech Stack
- Python: LiDAR processing, machine learning (PDAL, scikit-learn, rasterio)
- R: Spatial analysis and visualization (terra, sf, tmap)
- QGIS: Map creation, candidate evaluation
- Pixi: Lightweight environment manager for reproducibility
- PBDB: Open paleontological data source
🚀 Repo Structure
PaleoWave/ ├── data/ ├── scripts/ ├── qgis/ ├── docs/ └── environment.yml
See the README and scripts for details on how to run each stage.
🏜️ Why It Matters
With these tools, we can reduce the time spent wandering the desert
by focusing on areas where geology, terrain, and known fossil
occurrences all intersect.
It’s about combining science, curiosity, and a bit of Nevada spirit — to
bring the ichthyosaurs of Berlin back into the light.
So grab a map (and maybe an Icky IPA), and let’s go find some fossils.
🚩 Project Flag
The official field emblem of Project PaleoWave — inspired by
Nevada’s ancient seas.